DAYTON — Dayton’s prospects for a $200 million racino got a big boost Wednesday when a Franklin County judge threw out a lawsuit challenging the legal framework for operating slot machines in Ohio.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Timothy Horton ruled that the conservative anti-gambling Ohio Roundtable organization did not have legal standing to bring the suit.

“The legal system we rely upon exists to try actual cases and controversies. It exists to give citizens a voice when a wrong has occurred. However, it operates within certain boundaries and should not be used wantonly and/for political or social gain,” Horton wrote in the decision. “Throughout their pleadings and oral arguments, plaintiffs (the Roundtable) have offered little more than bare assertions of harm or injury.”

“Given plaintiff’s dearth of support, the court questions plaintiffs’ real purpose in bringing the claims,” the ruling said.

The Ohio Roundtable, which has fought gambling proposals in Ohio since 1988, filed the lawsuit in October contending the Ohio Lottery Commission’s operation of video lottery terminals at horse racing tracks violates the Ohio Constitution and Ohio law.

“We’re seriously analyzing our options, and appealing the decision is one of them,” said Robert Walgate, the organization’s vice president. “If we don’t have legal standing (to file the lawsuit) who does?”

The suit was filed just one day after Gov. John Kasich signed an executive order authorizing the State Racing Commission to pass emergency rules advancing both slot machines at horse racing tracks and relocation of racetracks to other parts of Ohio.

“The court’s decision to dismiss all of the counts in the Ohio Roundtable’s lawsuit is another significant step forward for our plan to relocate our Columbus and Toledo racetracks to the Mahoning Valley and Dayton, respectively,” said Bob Tenenbaum, spokesman for Penn National Gaming Inc., the developer of Dayton’s proposed racino. “We’re hopeful that the state will now move quickly to formalize the process that will allow us to apply to relocate our racetracks and get these two significant economic development projects under way.”

It’s been more than a year since the gaming company proposed the complex that would feature restaurants, a sports bar, a grandstand with dining options, a simulcast theater and a racetrack. The company says the racino will create 1,000 construction jobs. Once open, 1,500 people will be employed at the site directly or indirectly through suppliers and vendors.

Dayton Real Estate Ventures LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Penn National, purchased the 119-acre former Delphi location at the intersection of Needmore and Wagner Ford roads in August for $3.2 million for the harness racing track. Construction of the Dayton racetrack will take about 18 months, but work won’t get under way until the state has settled on the transfer fee and Penn’s relocation application is approved.

The judge’s decision also cleared a major hurdle for Miami Valley Gaming and Racing LLC, a joint venture of Delaware North Companies Gaming and Entertainment and Churchill Downs Inc.

Miami Valley Gaming and Racing LLC is in the process of purchasing the Lebanon Raceway for a reported $60 million.

The new owners want to build a $255 million racetrack near the intersection of Ohio 63 and Union Road in Turtlecreek Twp., near the Lebanon Correctional Institution. The facility would have 2,500 video lottery terminals.

“Miami Valley Gaming and Racing welcomes today’s decision by Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Tim Horton as great news for the 16,000 Ohioans who work in the horse racing industry and the 700 Ohioans who will have job opportunities at our new, world-class horse raceway and gaming facility along I-75,” said a statement from the two organizations.